WIRRAL Council has rejected plans to move the borough's magistrates courts to the north end of Birkenhead.

WIRRAL Council has rejected plans to move the borough's magistrates courts to the north end of Birkenhead.

Merseyside Magistrate's Courts Committee (MMCC) and the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) have been seeking to develop a new magistrates' courts complex to replace the existing court building in Birkenhead.

The current site on Chester Street, close to Birkenhead police station, is said to be unsuitable for the "modern justice system" due to its age and lack of facilities such as appropriate waiting and consulting areas.

But proposals to create a new purpose-built complex in the Bidston Moss area were rejected by Wirral's cabinet.

A decision was required to authorise a proposed site investigation, for which the DCA was expected to contribute 80% of the cost.

But Wirral Council cabinet said the area was a designated green space and the location was too poorly served by public transport.

Around 60 staff are employed at the court, but many more work there including prosecution and defence lawyers, probation officers and security staff.

In response to councillors' concerns about the suitability of the location, Wirral Council chief executive Steve Maddox said that the issue had been the subject of prolonged discussions.

He told the cabinet meeting that new courts were to be built under a Merseyside Magistrates Private Finance Initiative scheme, and a key element of this was the need to secure magistrates courts facilities in Wirral as opposed to being centralised in Liverpool.

But deputy leader of the council, Phil Davies, whose Birkenhead ward adjoins the proposed area, said good public transport links to a court were crucial and the suggested location in the Bidston ward did not measure up.

Liberal Democrat Leader and cabinet member for central services, Cllr Stuart Kelly, said: "We need a brownfield site which can be easily accessed by public transport."